Dig deep for cardiac unit (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Dig deep for cardiac unit

Dr Simon Biggart (centre) and his cardiac tam (from left): Anthony Jones, Betsy Hingston, Claire Murray and Rebecca Burton.THE cardiac team at Salisbury District Hospital has given heartfelt thanks to all the dedicated fundraisers helping to make the Ace of Hearts dream come true.

With more than £800,000 already raised for the new cardiac unit, staff are urging the community to make the final push to reach the £1m target and revolutionise the way heart patients are treated in Salisbury.

"This unit will make everything so much more convenient for staff, patients and everyone associated with it," said consultant cardiologist Dr Anthony Jones.

"Previously, we had to send patients to Southampton, although now we have a mobile unit which comes here once a fortnight.

"It's a lot better, but not ideal - it's situated in a car park and we have to wheel patients to it, often holding umbrellas to keep them dry."

Fellow consultant cardiologist Simon Biggart sees up to 11 patients a day in the mobile facility, but said the limited resources meant waiting lists were growing.

The government wants to slash the wait for appointments to 13 weeks by the end of next year.

"We are falling behind," he said. At the moment the list is eight months - it has been as much as 14 months when we sent people to Southampton, but obviously we have a long way to go.

"This unit will improve the situation enormously, as we'll be able to see patients five days a week."

The consultants are visiting possible providers of specialist equipment for the unit and discussions are under way to decide where it will be located.

New staff will also be recruited to care for patients and carry out investigations and tests for life-threatening heart conditions.

"It will be a lot easier for us all to have everything in one place - patients and sensitive equipment won't have to be moved round so much," said cardiac technician Betsy Hingston.

"We'll be able to do more procedures, more quickly," added Dr Biggart.

"And we hope to link up all the cardiac and coronary care services for a better continuity of care."

With the Ace of Hearts Appeal now extended until the end of April, the team is hoping the Salisbury community will pull together to reach the £1m target.

"It is actually quite humbling how generous people have been," said cardiac technician Claire Murray.

"The fundraising efforts have been fantastic."

Staff nurse Rebecca Burton added: "All the patients have been really impressed with what we are doing and lots want to help out."

The Ace of Hearts is the biggest appeal at the hospital since donations funded a CT scanner 12 years ago.

"The money has come in a lot more quickly this time - it has been incredible," said Dr Jones.

"The £800,000 we have so far is £4 for every person in our district.

"All we can do is thank people for that and ask them to dig deep, now that we are so close to reaching the target."